Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Seven military barracks at Lifford, Rockhill in Letterkenny, Cavan, Cootehill, Monaghan, Castleblayney and Longford were shut down as part of the major reorganisation of the Defence Forces that begin in 2012. Most of these properties or sites have been sold on. Along the approximately 500 km of Border between Finner Camp in County Donegal and Aiken Barracks in Dundalk, there is no military barracks and only two infantry battalions, controlled from a headquarters in Rathmines in Dublin, man the entire Border area. In light of Brexit, are we adequately and properly prepared in my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan ? Both of our Army barracks have been closed and members are faced with travelling long distances for little money. Some of them have told me they have been forced to sleep in their cars due to the expense associated with their mortgages, providing for their families and travelling very long journeys to and from work. On top of all this, businesses and farmers are concerned. There are concerns about how PEACE funding will be affected and about the relations and wounds of the past that have taken so long to mend being ruptured.

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